A Stitch in Life
by Vaniel
Summary: At the age of 7 Naruto meets a friend that he will value for the rest of his life. OCs. It's not as dramatic as it sounds.


Well, this is my first fic in…let's see, carry the 2, subtract 9…5 year!

Anyway, I've always been a little reluctant to uses OC's in a fic, but I think I'm finally going to do this. Now, despite the fact that I'm putting in new characters they are not overpowered, and are not the entire focus of the fic. But I digress, this is a fan fic, and this is all about what I want, isn't it? I want a nice, balanced story, so without further adieu, I give you chapter one of a story that I hope I can keep my heart in.

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

A small, blonde boy sat on the side of the road. In his hands sat a small piece of dried meat. He delicately took small bites as to savor the taste of the small amount of food he was aloud for his lunch. Despite his care in nibbling away at his treat, and slowly chewing to draw the flavor from it, it was still gone in a matter of a short minute. He sighed as he licked his fingers to get any flavor from them. He reached down to the bottom hem of his white tee shirt. He whipped the saliva from his fingers off at the bottom hem. As he did this, he noticed the dirt blemishes all over the front, and assumed the back was in the same state, if not worse. He sighed again.

Hefting himself up, he dusted off the back of his olive green pants. He reached into a side pocket half way down the right leg, and pulled out a small, blue, cotton pouch. He opened the pouch by its white drawstring, and peered in at the contents. A small fist full of the same dried meat was in it. He pulled the pouch closed again, and replaced it in his pocket. He reached into an identical pocket on the left leg, and pulled out a metal canteen the size of his fist, and a few shades lighter then his pants. He unscrewed the cap, and poured some water that was contained within into the cap, using it as a cup. He treated the water in a manner opposite the meat by downing it in one gulp. He sighed again, but in mild satisfaction this time. He replaced the cap on the canteen, then replaced the canteen into its pocket. He then looked skyward. He placed his right hand just above his shining blue eyes, and took in the view of the bright, cloudless blue sky that hovered far beyond the tall buildings that surrounded him. He closed his eyes, and his lips stretched into a wide grin that pushed the three lines on his cheeks closer to his eyes. He removed his gaze from the sky, and ran his hand that had shielded his eyes from the sun through the short spikes that made up his hair. "Today might just be a good day," the small boy said with his grin still present.

He turned down the street, and walked down it towards a large, orange-red tower. The tower was infinitely taller then the child. The building became progressively smaller as it went up in floors, until it just stopped with a flat roof on top, with 5 small obelisks evenly spaced around it with fencing in between. At the separation of each floor on the outside was a tiled roof made of tan shingles. Wires and lines going every which way to other parts of the building as well as to other parts of town. On the side of the top level sat a circle with the symbol of the village. The boy stared long and hard at the symbol. He knew the symbol. Everyone in the town did. It represented each person residing there. Their burning desires to fulfill their dreams and wishes. It was the symbol of fire, and the town was Konohagakure no Sato, The Village Hidden in the Leaves.

The boy just continued to grin. He was in his own world, as he walked to the tower. He ignored the glares of those who passed him. He was completely ignorant of the mutterings of the words "demon", and "monster". He was just happy that it was a nice day.

He eventually arrived at the tower. He walked up the couple steps to the towering pair of olive doors. He reached up, and grabbed the brass handle, and pulled with all his might. The door opened, and he made his way in. The hallways where colored the same as the outside. The doors where the same green as the ones to enter the building. The floor was made of gray, speckled, stone tiles. He continued to grin as he just moved through the halls, and continuing up flights of steps, until he reached the top inside level. After reaching the top of the stairs, he broke into a run, straight down the hall, to a pair of white doors. Split by the doors was a symbol. It was a spiral that had a small triangle like part on its lower left side, and a line on the upper right where the spiral ended. It was a leaf, and it represented every person who boor it on there forehead protectors. These people where ninja. They where the military force that lived in Konohagakure, and served the Fire Nation that they lived in.

The boy quickly pulled the door open, and ran in. Inside was a room. Bookcases lined the walls, and contained numerous scrolls and books on a variety of topics. More towards the center of the room sat a few very comfortable looking wooden chairs with green padding. In front of them sat a large wooden desk. Behind the desk where many glass-less windows with wooden covers that where propped open. On the desk where stacks of papers. Beyond the papers sat a man.

He was an old looking man. He wore a red robe that had a white belt around the waist, and a white scarf wrapped loosely around the neck. Over the red robe was a white one. This one didn't come down as to the ankles like the red one, instead, ending at the knees. It had long, baggy sleeves that ended at the wrist, giving no hint as to what may be underneath. The front was open, coming straight down, running evenly with the sides of his neck. His only visible features where his hands and face. His face was that of a kind old man. His cheeks sagged in such a way that one could tell just by looking at him that he had smiled many times. His eyes boor crows feet underneath, to show that his eyes might have been closed many of the times he smiled. His chin had a white goatee that came out several inches. The hair on his head was as white as the hair on his chin. It pointed backward and was recessed slightly, showing his age. Sitting on the desk, beside his left hand was a hat. It was primarily red with a white diamond shape on the front. Centered in the white part was the symbol for fire done up in red. On the top of the hat on both sides where two brown cords that likely secured the hat to the mans head. Around the rim of the hat was a white cloth that would drape down, and rest on his shoulders, and go all the way around his head, covering all but the face.

At the sound of the door opening, the old man looked up from his paper work, and looked at the boy. Immediately, his face produced a smile that the lines on his face showed he had done may times before. "Hello Naruto! What brings you here today?" he asked of the child.

"It's Friday, and you said you would take me out for dinner tonight," Naruto responded.

"Ah, right you are. Well, where would you like to go?"

"How about to that place with the noodles. It was really good when you took me there last week," the boy answered, with a bit of hope in his voice.

"So, you liked the ramen did you?" the old man asked, while chuckling lightly.

"Boy did I! That was the best stuff ever!" Naruto shouted.

"Ramen it is then," the old man stated. He looked over at one of the walls, above one of the bookshelves. On the wall sat a clock. "It's 12:30 now. So, why don't you come back at 4, and we can go get that ramen."

"All right!" Naruto cheered, as he jumped up in down.

"While you wait, why don't you go buy yourself some new cloths," the old man stated, "Just go in, and tell them to send the bill to the Hokage."

"Is it alright really alright for me to get clothing with you're money?" Naruto asked, making sure he wasn't abusing the old mans kindness.

"Nonsense. Think of this as you're birthday present. After all, you'll be turning 7 in a week," the Hokage smiled.

Naruto ran from where he was standing at the door still, and jumped over the desk to hug the old man. "Thank you grandpa Sarutobi!"

Sarutobi laughed at Naruto's display of affection. "Easy there. I'm getting to old for that. Now, why don't you go to this newly reopened shop on the main street? They just reopened today, and they have a boy only a little older then you," Sarutobi told the excited blonde.

The boy stopped smiling, and even frowned slightly. "They're going to hate me like the other people in the village do though," he said sadly.

"I don't think they will. They just moved in from the Wind country, and they seem like very nice people. Why don't you at least try?" the old man asked, trying to coax the small boy out of his slight depression.

"Okay!" the boy said, instantly turning his mood around.

"Good. Now, why don't you run along? I'll come to get you instead, since it's on the way to the ramen stand," Sarutobi told him.

Naruto rapidly nodded his head, and dashed out the way he came in. Sarutobi laughed at the antics of the blond whirlwind, and returned to the paperwork on his desk, with renewed vigor at the prospect of spending time with his surrogate grandson.

Naruto continued his full sprint all the way down the hall, continuing to descend the stairs, and finally slowed down when he reached the front door of the tower. After releasing himself back into the outside world, he walked straight down the street that the doors faced, which, conveniently enough, was the main street. As he started down the street, he realized he had forgotten to ask the aged Kage where the store was, but he figured it wouldn't be that hard to find a shop like that on the main street. He quickly found the store, as it was only a few buildings away from the tower. It was a simple, 4 story, gray building, with a wooden door as the only visible entrance, and a sign above said entrance. The sign above the entrance was gray, and has forest green letters with the kanji for Hyaku Hitohari. Naruto smiled at himself for finding the place, and pushed the door open.

As the door open, a small set of bells jingled, letting the employees know they had a potential customer. "Welcome to Hyaku Hitohari. What can we do for you?" said a young sounding voice.

Naruto looked at the counter that was only a couple feet away from him. Behind it was a boy who looked to be a couple years older then him. He had blond hair that fell loosely all around his head, almost covering his eyes and ears. It was a much paler shade then his own sun kissed blond hair. His eyes where blue, like his own, only, once again, paler. All Naruto could see of his clothing was his gray T-shirt.

"Hi, my name is Uzumaki Naruto. What's your name?"

"Hyaku Ichimaru. But my friends call me Ichi," the boy said, as he appeared to hop down off of a stool, and come around the counter. He was a couple inches taller then Naruto, but not by much. Naruto also noticed that he wore a pair of black cargo pants that came down, and almost hid the black ninja sandals and gray tabi that he wore. "So, can I help you?" Ichimaru asked.

"Well, it's my birthday in a week, and the Hokage told me to come down here to get some clothing made for me as my present," Naruto told the boy.

In return, Ichimaru stared at him wide-eyed. "You know Sandaime Hokage? That's awesome!" he remarked

Naruto just smiled at him. "He's like a grandpa to me. He gave me a place to live, gives me money to get food and stuff, and takes me out to dinner once a week. He's like the only family I have," he finished, dropping his smile a bit, but it returned no sooner then it left.

"You live by yourself?" the older boy asked.

"I'm not aloud to use the kitchen yet except for the refrigerator, but yeah, I live by myself," relied the younger boy, scratching the back of his head with his smile still present.

"That's just too cool," Ichimaru admired, "So anyway, you said you needed some new clothing?"

"Yeah, my T-shirts are all dirty and this is the only one without holes, and most of my pants fell apart at the seams," Naruto told him.

Ichimaru reached up to the counter, and grabbed a pad of paper, and a pencil. "Well, what would you like?" he asked.

"Well, I like the white T-shirts, so I'll just buy some more of them later, but a jacket that's stronger would be nice to help keep them around longer. Oh, and I want it to be orange. And maybe blue shoulders. Oh, and the red spiral that's on the back of the chuunin vest. Also, I want some orange pants to go with them. No blue though. Just orange," Naruto told him excitedly.

Ichimaru finished jotting this down on the paper, then walked over to an open entryway leading into the back, and shouted "Dad! Customer needs measurements!"

Only a couple seconds later an older man came from the back. He looked like an older version of Ichi. He had on the same style of clothing as his son, and the only real differences where the sharper facial features, and the shorter, spiked hair.

The man turned to his son, "What did you say Ichi?"

"I said a customer needs measurements," he informed his father.

The older man looked at Naruto, and pulled out a measuring ribbon. He started measuring different parts of Naruto, and telling Ichimaru the measurements for each part for him to write down. It only took a minute for him to finish. He took the paper from his son's hands, and read the description of the clothing. "There are a couple of minor details missing. Do you want me to fill them in for you?" the man asked.

"Sure!" Naruto smiled at the man.

The man smiled back, and then walked into the back to get to work.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Ichimaru asked.

Naruto looked around the room, and spotted a clock near a couple changing rooms. After counting on a few fingers he responded, "Well, it's only one o'clock right now, and the Hokage said he'd come get me at four, so I'll just wander around until then, and just come back here so he can get me."

Suddenly, Ichimaru had an idea. "Hey, why don't you hang out here with me until he gets here?" he suggested.

"Really? Are you sure?" Naruto asked. This situation was foreign to him, but he defiantly wanted to hang out with the boy.

"Let me go ask my mom if she'll watch the shop so that we can hang out in my room," he said, as he quickly disappeared into the back room.

A couple minutes later, he returned with a woman. Naruto just looked at her, because she was the prettiest woman he had ever seen. She too had blond hair, and blue eyes, but they where somewhere in between her son and his own. She wore clothing similar to her husband with the only difference being that her gray shirt was noticeably longer. She walked over to Naruto, and kneeled down in front of him, giving him a smile that matched the image she projected. "Hello there. You must be Uzumaki Naruto. I'm Hyaku Ni," she said in the most pleasant voice he had ever heard. "Ichi, you and you're friend can go to your room. Your sister is taking a nap in the living room. I'll come get you when the Hokage gets here."

"Thanks mom!" he responded, before motioning for Naruto to follow him. They went through the doorway, and Naruto looked around the back room, which was much larger then the front area. There where giant rolls of different materials and colors. There where a couple industrial sewing machines, and other things Naruto could only guess their function. He noticed Ichimaru's dad at one of the machines, working with some orange material, which he could only assume was his clothing. Ichimaru led Naruto over to his dad. "Hey dad, this is Uzumaki Naruto. He and I are going to hang out upstairs while we wait for the Hokage to come get him. Mom's minding the front of the shop," He told his father.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Naruto. My name is Hyaku San. And I should have at least the jacket done by the time the Hokage gets here. If you like it, I'd be happy to make you some more too," He smiled, and extending his hand to shake Naruto's.

Naruto returned the shake with a smile. "I'd be glad to order more. I just have to check with the Hokage first, since he's paying for it."

"Don't worry about it. We don't get much call for orange clothing, so this gives us an excuse to use some of it," He told Naruto, while ruffling his hair.

"Thank you!"

"No problem. Now, you two head up stairs. I need to work on this jacket for you," he said, before returning to his work.

Naruto and Ichimaru turned around, and headed up the stairs into the house. When they got to the second floor, Naruto noticed they where in a living room, with a kitchen on the far side of the floor. There was a hallway next to the kitchen to his right. In the living room there was a slightly sunken down part with a couple of sofas and a matching chair. On one of the sofas was a small girl who looked like a three-year-old version of Ni. "That's my sister Rei. Let's get upstairs quick. She's a light sleeper," Ichimaru whispered to him.

They went down the hall that was to their right, and went past a couple doors before going up another set of stairs. There where some more doors on this floor. "So, which one is your room?" Naruto asked.

"That one," Ichimaru told him, pointing at a panel in the ceiling with a cord on it. Ichimaru walked over, and pulled on the string revealing a set of steps leading to an attic.

"Cool," Naruto said in awe as he walked up the steps behind Ichimaru, who, once completely up, hit a switch next to the opening in the floor which quickly, yet lightly pulled the door back up.

The room was as big as the other floors of the house. It was a dark wood color on the walls, ceiling, and floor, as well as the furniture matching this. There was a very large bed in the back right corner from where he was. A couple feet from the foot of the bed was a free standing closet. Next to the bed was a desk with a lamp, and two boxes on the table. Next to the desk was an old trunk easily the size of the bed. On the left side of the room, was, from what Naruto could tell, a full sized bathroom with a shower/bathtub combo.

Ichimaru walked over to the desk, and picked up the smaller of the two boxes. He opened it up and motioned for Naruto to come over to the desk. Inside the box was a scroll no larger then his forearm. Ichimaru opened the scroll up. "Do you know what this is? I've never seen anything like it before, and nobody will tell me," Ichimaru asked, showing the scroll to the younger blond.

"It looks like a jutsu scroll. I've seen some in the Hokage's office. This one's called 'Hari to Ito no Jutsu'," Naruto read.

"Cool," Ichimaru remarked, "I found this in that trunk that's next to my desk along with the scroll in the other box. I think it belonged to my great grandfather. My grandpa told me that my great grandfather was a ninja way back in the day."

"That's so cool that you found one of his scrolls," Naruto told him, "Hey, I'm going to be joining the ninja academy next year. You should join too. We'd be in the same class, and maybe you can learn how to do the stuff on those scrolls."

"That's an awesome idea!" Ichimaru exclaimed.

The two sat there for the next couple hours talking about what it would be like to be ninja. Before they knew it, they heard a knocking on the trap door before it opened. From the hole, San popped his head in. "Naruto, Ichi, the Hokage is here," he told them before turning around, leaving the stairs down.

The two went downstairs, and quietly passed by Rei who was still asleep. Once at the front of the shop, Naruto ran up, and hugged the Hokage who was standing next to the counter, talking to Ni and San. "Well Naruto, are you ready to go have some ramen?" The aged Kage asked.

"Sure," Naruto started, "But can Ichimaru come with us. I want to hang out with him some more."

The Hokage just smiled and nodded his head, "Of coarse he can come. I'll pay for both of you."

Both boys jumped up and down at this, before following the old man out the door, and down the street a little to the open air ramen stand. Sitting down on stools with Naruto in between Ichimaru and the Hokage. "Welcome Hokage-sama. What can I get for you?" said a young girl.

"Hello Ayame. I'll have some chicken ramen," He told her, "What will you boys have?"

"I'll have pork ramen please!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Beef please!" Ichimaru stated.

"I'll be right back with your orders," Ayame said as the young girl turned around and went into the kitchen.

"So, Naruto, what kind of clothing are you having made?" Sarutobi asked.

"An orange and blue jacket with orange pants," he smiled before realizing something, "I forgot to see if it was ready before we left. You're dad said if might be ready before we left," he said to Ichimaru.

"Calm down Naruto. I'm sure it will be there when we go back to drop Ichimaru off," Sandaime said with a smile that relaxed the boy.

"Hokage-sama, do you think it would be okay if I joined the academy with Naruto next year?" Ichimaru asked the wise old man.

"That's something your parents will have to decide, but I think it will be a wonderful idea. It's a bit of a later start, but it is certainly not unheard of. Plus, it would give Naruto a friend to train with," he told the lighter blond.

No sooner had he finished talking, the ramen came out. Naruto and Ichimaru quickly picked up their chopsticks, broke the connector at the top, put their hand together, and no sooner had they said "Itadakimasu!" they where tearing into their ramen like they hadn't eaten in days. Sandaime Hokage could only gawk at the two boys while he ate his ramen at a more normal pace. Both boys had finished their bowls at the same time, before the words "More please!" came out in stereo.

Fifteen minutes and ten bowls apiece later, and both boys where patting their stomachs, completely satisfied. Sarutobi could only laugh as both boys had put his 3 bowls to shame. "I think you have just discovered your two best customers Ayame."

The young girl just popped her head out from behind the counter, amazed that a lib was not lost in that madness.

The old man stood up, and put money down for the twenty-three bowls of ramen, plus a hefty tip, with both boys following him as he walked back to the shop. When they entered Ichimaru's mother was sitting at the counter with a box in front of her. "Here you go Naruto, this is for you," Ni said, as she handed the box too him. It was an orange box with a blue sting holding it closed.

Naruto quickly slid the string off, and opened the box revealing the jacket and the pants. Aside from what he asked, on the left shoulder, it had a tan spiral with two strings coming off of it, coming down into a holder for a glow stick. It also had a white collar that would completely cover his neck. It was soft, and very comfortable. Naruto quickly ran over to the dressing room, and put the jacket and pants on. He noticed the pants came a little too far down for his liking, so he rolled them up until the bottom was at mid-shin. Satisfied, he came out, and showed himself off. Sarutobi nodded in approval, while Ichimaru quickly dashed in the back and up the stairs. About a minute later, he came back with something behind his back. "It looked like something was missing, so I had an idea. I use to live in the wind country, which is mostly desert, so there is sand everywhere. Where I lived particularly had a lot of sand storms. So, what we did to fight that is we wore goggles and a facemask to protect ourselves. These are a little to small for me, and I have some larger ones now, so you can have these," He said, handing Naruto a pair of green goggles and a black facemask.

Naruto put the goggles on as well as the facemask. After he was done, not an inch of his face could be seen. The mask covered from his nose down, and the goggles covered the rest. He pushed the goggles up so they covered his forehead, and pulled the mask down around his neck. "Thanks Ichimaru!" Naruto said to the boy.

"My friends call me Ichi, so you should too," he told him with a smile.

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

Well, that's chapter one. I actually did most of this while sleep deprived for an EEG.

Anyway, I already have pairings planed out. I will not pair an Original Character with a Canon character. I just won't do it. Sure, someone may end up lonely in life, but dem's the breaks. I also won't have any polls or anything, because this story is from my head, not anyone else. I also won't be messing with established teams. Which means a few more OCs.

Oh, and yes, I did give a back-story to Naruto's attire. Deal with it

**Notes:**

Hyaku Hitohari - 100 Stitches. Ichimaru's home, and his families shop. Opened 50 years ago by Ichi's grandfather, Sen.

Hari to Ito no Jutsu – Needle and Thread Jutsu. This will be explained later. Just know that it will we a commonly used technique by Ichi.

And if you're paying attention, you'll notice something about Ichimaru's family's names.

Rei - Zero

Ichi – Once

Ni – Two

San – Three

Sen – 1000

Hyaku – 100

The entire families names are number jokes.

Anyway, read and review, and all that jazz. Flames will either be ignored, or I will reply to you in a PM depending on the flame.


End file.
